


The Way I Am

by leici



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-02
Updated: 2014-09-02
Packaged: 2018-02-15 22:15:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2245254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leici/pseuds/leici
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fic world retelling of the emergency appendectomy that Paul had on Thursday, January 17, 2008. I suck at summaries. :p</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Way I Am

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is totally unbetaed and written between coding jags at work, so I apologize for disjointedness. The title comes from the song that's been stuck in my head all day by Ingrid Michaelson. I heard it on the radio once a couple weeks ago and had this bizarre image of Paul and Wojtek slow dancing to it (idk), and then heard it again this morning before work. It's kind of a sweet little song, and these two are a sweet little pairing for me (with a ton of backstory that's still in the process of being written), so it makes sense, at least if you're me. It went entirely a different direction than I was planning, but it came out... not badly. I guess.
> 
> Written January 2008.

Paul was doing a pretty convincing job of pretending he was in good spirits. The in afternoon, when the trainers told him he was going to have to get surgery, Wojtek figured it was just Paul trying not to be scared. Neither one of them had ever had surgery (unless you counted the bit done on Paul's teeth), but they  _were_  hockey players. And it was a simple procedure. The chances of complication were next to nothing.  
  
Despite the very strong desire to do so, Wojtek managed to keep himself from going to the hospital and sitting in the waiting room. They were known to be good friends, but most of the time, it was better to be safe than sorry. So he waited on his own couch, staring blankly at bad daytime television, and then the evening news, and finally some sitcom on prime time before he got a text from Paul that he was in his room for the night.  
  
They texted back and forth for about half an hour before Paul couldn't stay awake anymore, and all Wojtek wanted to do was drive to the hospital and  _go get him_. He didn't want Paul to have to sleep there by himself. He knew the team had people around to see him, and Paul was still so groggy from the anesthetic that he probably wouldn't have much opportunity to feel lonely. But still, Wojtek felt an extreme desire to at least be there with him, if he couldn't get him out of there.  
  
But then Wojtek felt stupid, because it was pretty obvious that he wanted to go because  _he_  was missing  _Paul_. Or worrying about him. Or both.  
  
So he stayed home, slept poorly on his sofa and had nightmares about playing in hockey games where every pass he tried to make to Paul was blocked or intercepted or taken away from him. He woke up abruptly in the middle of one of those dreams to his cell phone ringing, and nearly fell on the floor when his groggy 'hello' was greeted by Paul's soft laugh. It was amazing how awake he felt the instant Paul asked him to come pick him up from the hospital and bring him home.  
  
He wanted to get Paul something - coffee or those doughnuts he liked or maybe a croissanwich - but he had no idea if Paul was allowed to eat those kinds of things. So he did something completely ridiculous and bought him a little dumb Get Well Soon teddy bear from the King Sooper's on the way to Denver Health. It sat in the passenger's seat next to him as he made his way through the twisting streets, and waited in the car when Wojtek headed in to meet Paul in his room.  
  
Paul was already dressed when Wojtek got there, sitting on the edge of the bed and watching some talk show on the television. He didn't look all that different than he had the last time Wojtek had seen him, though there were darker circles under his eyes. When Wojtek walked through the door, he turned his head and smiled, but it was definitely a tired expression.  
  
"Hi," Wojtek said, feeling strangely awkward.  
  
"Hi," Paul replied, his little smile returning.  
  
"How're you feeling?"  
  
Paul inhaled deeply, and grimaced a little as he did it. "Sore. Tired. You know, the usual."  
  
Wojtek smiled, taking a step closer to the bed. "Are you gonna have a cool scar?"  
  
"Yeah, should. Two of 'em, actually..." He tugged his t-shirt up, and then pushed down the waist of his track pants to show Wojtek. Both incisions were covered with little bandages, one on the lower right between his hip and his navel and the other almost directly below his bellybutton.  
  
Wojtek took another step, crouching so he could examine the gauze patches. He wanted to reach out and touch; not the wounds, but the skin around them. He didn't, though he sighed softly before he stood, and could see a little twitch of reaction in Paul's eyes when his breath ghosted over Paul's abdomen.  
  
The nurse appeared a moment later, and Wojtek moved aside as she chattered at his boyfriend, detailing the care instructions for his sutures and explaining other restrictions and things to be conscious of during recovery. He pretended to be ignoring the whole thing, but in reality, Wojtek was taking mental notes. He knew Paul well enough to know he was going to push the limit so he could get back to playing as soon as physically possible. Someone had to be there to make sure Paul was being careful, and not rushing things.  
  
Just as the nurse was finishing up, an orderly arrived with a wheelchair, and after signing the discharge papers, Paul was being wheeled down to the front doors, and Wojtek was instructed to bring his car around. He was just unbuckling to go and open Paul's door when Paul was wheeled up beside him, getting up out of the chair and opening the door himself. Consequently, he almost sat on Teddy, who was still taking up residence in the seat.  
  
"What's this?" Paul asked, a little grin playing around his mouth as he scooped Teddy up before sliding carefully into the car.  
  
Wojtek blushed, hoping the orderly hadn't noticed. "It's, you know, nothing..."  
  
Paul turned the little bear over in his hands, noting the little banner it was holding with get well wishes. He smiled widely at it, showing his teeth (and the ones that were missing), turning his face to Wojtek. Wojtek looked up at Paul through his eyelashes, cheeks pink and lips pursed in a battle between smile and pout.  
  
"You're adorable, you know that?"  
  
"Shut up." Wojtek re-buckled his seat belt, pout winning, and turned to start the car.  
  
"I love you," Paul added, rubbing his thumb over the head of the little teddy bear in his hands. "You know that?"  
  
"Yeah." Wojtek's lips shifted as he finally let himself smile, putting the car in gear. "I know."  
  
The next few weeks would be rough, especially on Paul as he not only sat in the press box at all their games, but had to stay home when he was supposed to be in Atlanta. But Wojtek knew, no matter what it took, he was going to be there, doing whatever he could to make Paul feel better. Because Paul deserved it, because he couldn't help himself wanting to do anything and everything for Paul.  
  
Because, he supposed, that's the way someone acted, when they were in love.


End file.
